Ankeny 10th fastest-growing city in U.S.

New U.S. census data shows Ankeny as the 10th-fastest-growing city in the country for cities of more than 50,000 residents.

The Des Moines suburb had 65,284 residents on July 1, 2018, up 4.6% in a year. Buckeye, Ariz., topped the list at 8.5% growth. The largest numeric growth was in Phoenix, with an increase of 25,288 people. Others in the top five were San Antonio, up 20,824; Fort Worth, Texas, 19,552; Seattle, 15,354; and Charlotte, N.C., 13,151.

New York City was the most populous city overall, with 8.4 million, and Los Angeles was second at just under 4 million. Chicago was third at 2.7 million.

The latest census report showed that the South and West had most of the fastest-growing cities.

Des Moines’ population dipped slightly in the year studied, falling to 216,853 from 217,006, and ranked as the 101st-biggest city in the country. Cedar Rapids grew to 133,174 from 132,333, a gain of 0.6%.

Several recent census reports have placed the Des Moines metro as the fastest-growing in the Midwest, on a percentage basis, in recent years.